Race and white space

This companion page is one of many included in the See My Academic FACE survey findings - officially released November 24. Featured first are Black and racially minoritised participant answers. Scroll down to see non minoritised or white participant answers to the same question.

The qualitative question below elicited answers answers across several themes

The first is Race and white space

Please add any further insight into your lived experience as an academic/technician/

member of support staff in relation to ‘Race’. How, for example has Race impacted your sense of feeling supported and valued as an educator?

Theme 1 is Race and white space

Black and racially minoritised participant answers

Isolation/invisibility

10. We need more black educators. There is a very low percentage of black and POC staff, more in the place where I work but still not enough.

22. Feelings of invisibility until something needs doing. Unrealistic workloads /expectations.

31. Like my own Black and Brown students, I have under-reported racial incidents because of personal concerns about negative potential consequences, and had my concerns dismissed as making a fuss when I have brought up incidents.  At times this has left me doubting my interpretation of the demeaning racialised experiences, which has contributed to my sense of isolation, anxiety and stress and robbed me of opportunities to progress professionally - all consequently affecting my mental health. Navigating this impossible terrain is exhausting, a position that I have often discussed with Black colleagues, many of whom are experiencing the same thing.  To my shame at times the hyper-surveillance and small micro-aggressions were played down by myself, because the racist incidences could not be 'clearly evidenced'.  Was this race led, or was it personal? Miscommunication? Was it me?

“Navigating this impossible terrain is exhausting, a position that I have often discussed with Black colleagues, many of whom are experiencing the same thing.” 

97. I feel as though I am seen within the institution I work at, however I don’t see people that are like me; as a Muslim South Asian I don’t see me represented with the teaching cohort yet I do feel as though i have been given the opportunity to have a say in what works and what doesn’t when teaching and supporting students

Outsider/ hostile

24. I’ve been in my current job since 2020. I started out in a zero hours contract working with technicians that seemed to view me with suspicion. After a year I became Technical Team Leader with 10 staff in my team. One team member has never accepted me and has since raised a grievance against me and then gone on the ACAS after a period of sickness absence. My well-being is not be considered. When the team member returns I’m being told to call out any bad behaviour. 

I’m in the process of writing a letter to the Dean to express my disappointment and discontent.

28. The environment I work in is isolating, and often hostile. My treatment has been often demeaning, my contributions minimised and my initiatives claimed as their own. In my institutions Black excellence is seen, rarely acknowledged and feared. I feel saddened, demoralised and exhausted.

“In my institutions Black excellence is seen, rarely acknowledged and feared.”

41. Some elements of recent such as age perception and also use of Afro products such as hair styling and maintaining items and hair styles have meant that I am pointed out and perceived as different and also treated unfairly and made fun of by colleagues.  It is very difficult to speak about this being the only person of colour in my direct environment. 

45. My race has been used to exclude me from conversations that would benefit from my input - especially those about me. The elephant in the room appears to be the use of the stereotype of the unprofessional angry black woman in the workplace, as a default. Your unique lived experience as a Black female employee cannot compete with this stereotype, in fact you are rendered voiceless by its omnipresence. In real terms, you are simply not seen are listened to for who you are - my white colleagues do not have this burden.

“In real terms, you are simply not seen are listened to for who you are - my white colleagues do not have this burden.”

62. I am very aware of often being the minority in the room, which sometimes adds pressure of how to behave or perform in my role. In my current role I do often feel like an outsider, but I have also been made to feel this way by students too, why are you teaching us? What do you know about fashion? You are not really good enough/know enough to teach us.  I have also witnessed/experienced students being supported/encouraged to weaponise race/racism against staff, effectively using official university systems/procedures to bully staff into doing what students perceive staff should be doing (i.e. you gave me a bad mark/feedback because of my race). From experience marking/supporting students is generally conducted in a neutral way (e.g., anonymous marking, use of bench marking procedures) yet some students are fuelled/encouraged to believe they are being discriminated against in certain scenarios, and it is quite concerning that students are allowed to make accusations which are not always fully investigated or ascertained why the student is making accusations (race/racism appears to be a convenient cover to distract from a student’s own behaviour/engagement or perhaps in questioning their own identity in relation to race). There is lot of discussion in and around decolonisation, but there is lack of proper explanation of what this is or means in practice. Including references or examples of say Black or South Asian owned fashion businesses seems superficial - what guidance/support is there in terms of resources? There appears to be very little support in this area which makes it confusing in finding a direction towards developing/evolving relevant teaching materials to develop a properly rigorous/inclusive curriculum. Fashion and Race Database by Kimberly Jenkins is great and I do try to encourage students to also access and use this as part their research, but teaching in UK/Europe we also need resources which are more related/align to this context too. Perhaps this is another area FACE can do research into.

“There is lot of discussion in and around decolonisation, but there is lack of proper explanation of what this is or means in practice. Including references or examples of say Black or South Asian owned fashion businesses seems superficial - what guidance/support is there in terms of resources?”

83. I feel depressed and isolated. Promotion or value is not driven or based on merit but who is part of the white boys club. What is worse is that we have white boys preaching about inclusion and the hypocrisy I have encountered is gut wrenching.

“What is worse is that we have white boys preaching about inclusion and the hypocrisy I have encountered is gut wrenching.”

95. Hyper sensitivity towards race issues I feel is impeding open and honest debate on this topic and leads to a lack  of support for the staff that are most inneed of education in these areas.

Apathy and ineffectiveness

63. - just wish sometimes my white colleagues would take it upon themselves to research race within their education practice …

67. I strongly feel that the institution that I work for pays a lot of lip service to the development of an improved experience for black and brown staff and students but I have not seen much actual, tangible action in my 6 years working there.

87. The university is very white and monocultured.

88.However, the biggest influence in relation to Race stems from recognising the lack of appropriate representation of diverse academic staff for our diverse student cohort. Efforts to bring diverse visiting lecturers in have either led to management asking for free talks (because of the 'opportunities to speak to students and share industry insights') which I refuse to organise or massive admin hurdles which lower my possibilites to get diverse staff in even for a day. This is complemented by the fact that the university prefers to get people in who are already 'on the books' than new ones which have to undergo the lengthy onboarding process. Because of the lacking opportunities to diversify academic conversations, I have put a strong emphasis in my teaching on offering examples from diverse cultural contexts and resources which has been recognised particularly by Black and Asian students. Still, this is no substitute for having lived design experience persoanlly discussed and I wish the university would undertake greater effort to ensure all students feel represented.

 98. Post-George Floyd in 2020 it felt like all HEIs were on board the anti-racist train committed to making the lives and careers of black and brown staff and students successful, however, 4 years on that fight has been turned into fright and flight and doesn't appear to be important anymore. HE seems to reflect the attitudes within the conservative government and sadly makes me feel that the anti-racist fight has been lost! Untill all employers show a meaningful commitment towards dismantling racism we will see our movement taking giant steps backwards.

Non minoritised or white participant answers

See also HOPE for examples of white allyship and coalition

Acknowledging privilege and calling out institutional lethargy

127. I am very fortunate to be in a university which recognise the importance of ensuring we support and value all of our educators and the importance of diversity within the faculty. We understand the importance of decolonisation with the curriculum also. However I do recognise my own privilege as a white British male and as such what that means with my view.

132. Need to talk more about race, class & age-Intersectionality’s

134. As an ally I am active in supporting the need for changes to processes, questioning the institution and raising bias or obstruction where I find it. Race impacts my sense of feeling valued because I want to work in a diverse environment where everyone works towards supportive, transparent, developed and fair careers for all.

136. I am white and with that privilege I haven’t felt any disadvantages in relation to my race. I have witnessed non white colleagues dealing with issues of micro aggressions and bias.

138. In my experience progression always favoured those staff who state openly they are a graduate of this degree. Somehow giving them a better status or privilege.  Having an accent and being different makes me not fit with the cliques. [I am] isolated [and] excluded from conversations. Bullied into doing modules less favourable so cliques can work together.

139. invite to events etc named placeholders positions set! Provided on numerous times less inclusive or natural environment. Turning backs in conversations.

Mocking of support staff whom eventually had serious mental health issues.

For me some of these educators actually need to be re educated to a better Standard before they can represent universities.

140. I am a white male of a certain age and have noticed that there are institutional inequalities when I look at how I have been treated differently from others. In the five institutions I have worked in over the last 24 years I have evidence of women being paid less and finding progression harder and few black or brown colleagues. Those of colour that do speak up are often (never to their face I might add) accused of ‘playing the race card’.

141. My institution is not diverse enough in terms of representation of race, however we have a broad range of staff in our community from minoritised backgrounds and cultures, but it could and SHOULD be better. My institution does not make enough visible effort in terms of recruitment to diversify our staff population, or our student cohorts - it says that this is a key remit, but I can't see this in practice. Aside from this, there is a good feeling of inclusivity and respect in our institution, especially towards minorities individuals - our institution makes it very visible that bias or discrimination will not be tolerated.

144. I'm aware of the privileges that my whiteness brings, which for the most part enable me to move through academia without having to think about my racial identity (unless I choose to). I am also aware of the ways in which colleagues who are minoritised by race do not have this choice. It is right that universities are taking steps to recognise and tackle racism and a culture of whiteness, although the pace of change is too slow and the mechanisms to effect change are not sufficiently resourced.

146. Black and brown students and minorities students often struggle as they cannot see themselves or their background in their peers, classes or the teaching.

151. I try and be an ally and actively work to decolonise and be anti-racist, however am aware of my own inelegance, ignorance and clumsiness particularly with language when talking to black colleagues sometimes

152. As a white woman, I acknowledge that I move through the university and world with layers of privilege, which has contributed to my sense of feeling valued and supported as an educator. I am part of a messed up system. I take the responsibility in my teaching to specifically explore ways in which students and staff can examine our own implicit and explicit biases. I run workshops on this within the university. 

155. I do not think there is enough progressive joined up thinking in tackling racism or building equitable experiences for staff or students at my institution. The work is slow and hindered by a lack of staff commitment but also a lack of strategic direction to lead change.

159. I have not felt/perceived any impact due to my race, which in turn shows a clear bias - the absence of this feeling like a factor os surely a clear privilege. Comparatively I routinely feel my gender has affected my value, progression, opportunities and perception by others.

163. As a white technician I am acutely aware of my black and brown colleagues being treated differently to me by staff and students - not overt racism but unconscious bias. I am also acutely aware that there is a tendency for white staff to prioritise supporting white students and leave supporting black and brown students to other non white staff. There is never any 'big deal' or conflict but it is a subtle and seems accepted way of working

166. I don’t come from a minority background so I can only speak from this point of view. I know I am privileged in this. I strive to be supportive of my colleagues from minority ethnic backgrounds. I would like to see more staff who reflect the diversity of the student population.

170. I am very fortunate to be in a university which recognise the importance of ensuring we support and value all of our educators and the importance of diversity within the faculty. We understand the importance of decolonisation with the curriculum also. However I do recognise my own privilege as a white British male and as such what that means with my view

Denial/poor leadership

133. A couple of years ago when I was finishing my PGCE, I wrote a paper that would in turn be condensed into an academic poster about the lack of black teachers in FE and HE and in my organisation in particular. As part of the research I interviewed our principal and the head of HR. The principal asked for a copy of my paper once I had finished it. Within 20 mins of sending it, the principal came to find me and I spent a good 30 minutes very carefully and gently soothing her white lady guilt and defensiveness. She was more concerned about local press seeing my essay than the systemic racism it spoke about and refused to allow me to publish my poster at conference.

For the sake of my job, I didn’t take it any further but I still have that essay.

135. It is difficult working in an institution that has recently been found guilty of racism. The exec of this place are very poor at communicating and are breeding a very untrustworthy culture. The way we jump into bed with arms developers and spurious business indicates a lack of cosmopolitan awarness. I am proud of a lot of what I do with good colleagues but despair when I am aware of how poor our leadership is.

148. The bullying I experienced related to a protected characteristic other than my ethnicity. I am not a racialised member of staff, however, I have seen how Black lecturers and colleagues from ethnic minorities have been treated, since I started teaching in 2009, and it is definitely different from white members of staff. In recent years overt discrimination seems much less, and there is a more tokenised treatment (from my view from the outside). None of this is helped by a culture of nepotism and opaque progression and employment practices that create a culture of fear (where staff constantly second guess themselves and don't feel able to speak honestly and openly). There is a fear of even identifying the barriers which prevent marginalised students and colleagues from fulfilling their potential, and university initiatives are too "top down". Economic barriers to learning (and for lecturers barriers to progression and conducting research) for instance, are almost never discussed.

149. Having taken the lead at my institution as a white academic for focussing on race equality I have experienced lots of inertia, awkwardness, shame and resistance to change from white colleagues, some of whom have actively worked through their privilege to see the other side, but not many. I have also seen colleagues of colour experience racialisation and direct racism from both staff and students. I have also seen the institution’s efforts wane around race equality. It’s a disappointing space to be in, but the few of us that have committed to making change will continue the work.

150. I've been working on de-centering white narratives from the material I teach and this has been successful, although I have noted that on occasion this has resulted in oppositional/ challenging attitudes towards my teaching from some (white) students.

A colleague suggested that I remove 'intersectionality' from my taught material for first year students, as they believed that this idea might be too academically challenging for some students. Whilst I understood that this particular student group struggles academically, I continued to teach about intersectionality as it's impossible to teach about feminisms in an inclusive way without discussing it.

153. Race is never discussed in any in-depth way, but neither are gender or class. Our department only reacts to currently fashionable biases and does all it can to look like it's addressing the issues without making any useful changes. The staff in our department are almost all white and middle class but the student body is more diverse and, therefore, ought to have a wider range of experience reflected in their tutors.

155. I do not think there is enough progressive joined up thinking in tackling racism or building equitable experiences for staff or students at my institution. The work is slow and hindered by a lack of staff commitment but also a lack of strategic direction to lead change.

157. There is much work to be one on this, to expand the appeal of courses, access to them and opportunities in both study, career progression in industry and applied experience in teaching, from a much broader group of humans than I'm presently seeing/experiencing!

158. Educators in general are not valued in the UK. UK HE creates and promotes privilege for selected individuals who behave as management expects, there is little accountability and governing bodies are weak instruments to enact change, largely as they are appointed by the very people they should be holding to account.

167. A lot has changed over the 26 years I have worked here. Most of which as a full-time technical member of staff. I believe matters regarding race, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc receive more consideration, especially in recruitment but there is still much further to go.

Hope

154 part 2. I have not felt any less supported because of my race at all.  Our team have worked hard in decolonising the curriculum and have increased numbers of students in underrepresented minorities effectively in recent years And I feel we have a great team who would welcome more diversity in it.

Tension

154 part 1. As a white person I have only felt the micro aggressions daily from team members of colour who refuse to work together in a team and continually causes issues because of their support role compared to the academic roles and the feeling of they shouldn’t have to assist us even though that is their role by job specification not because of race, but it is clearly felt that they believe it is because of race we ask them to do things but it’s because of the role only. This has caused huge tension in the department.